One reel, multiple rods?

[TylerT123]

Anyone on a budget have one reel but multiple rods for different techniques? How does it work for you?

[KP Duty]

50 minutes ago, TylerT123 said:

Anyone on a budget have one reel but multiple rods for different techniques? How does it work for you?

I don't just have one reel, but I have far more rods than reels.  Two reels would equate to less sacrificing....you could roll with a jig/worn reel and a moving bait reel and still be frugal.

[Fishinthefish]

From a boat this would be a nightmare. On a calm breezeless day sure. But any type of wake or waves, any wind to blow the line out of the guides or your fingers and youll be ready to buy new reels after an 8 hour trip.

 

From the shore its doable. Youre more stable and can put your back to the wind to help alleviate the issue of it blowing the line around.

 

But ask yourself, how much time do you spend fishing per trip or how much time do you spend per week? Now lets say youre bank fishing and figuring out on average what the fish want takes an hour. You could cut that time in half if you dont have to keep switching one reel from rod to rod. And on the other side you could double that hour to get your first bite because youre spending so much time running line through guides. Is it really worth losing that much of the little time we all get to spend fishing on this planet to save some cash? As a temp solutionion understand a man has to do what a man has to do to catch fish. But long term, how much is your time worth when youre losing it to redo the same process over and over again?

[TylerT123]

16 minutes ago, Fishinthefish said:

From a boat this would be a nightmare. On a calm breezeless day sure. But any type of wake or waves, any wind to blow the line out of the guides or your fingers and youll be ready to buy new reels after an 8 hour trip.

 

From the shore its doable. Youre more stable and can put your back to the wind to help alleviate the issue of it blowing the line around.

 

But ask yourself, how much time do you spend fishing per trip or how much time do you spend per week? Now lets say youre bank fishing and figuring out on average what the fish want takes an hour. You could cut that time in half if you dont have to keep switching one reel from rod to rod. And on the other side you could double that hour to get your first bite because youre spending so much time running line through guides. Is it really worth losing that much of the little time we all get to spend fishing on this planet to save some cash? As a temp solutionion understand a man has to do what a man has to do to catch fish. But long term, how much is your time worth when youre losing it to redo the same process over and over again?

We are talking about a hobby/pastime, it wouldn’t take a whole lot of time and I wouldn’t switch rods constantly. It’s more about saving money than time.

 

[FishDewd]

I have two reels that I sometimes switch between 2 rods depending on what I want to do, but its not too often. About the only time is if I am going from freshwater to salt or vice versa. Its not too bad changing out rods. What I do is leave the drag loose enough to pull out the line and just pull out enough initially to feed it through all the guides in one go. One hand to push through, catch in the other. Takes maybe 15 seconds at most. What takes longer is retying the rigging needed. Line feeding is the easy part.

[LonnieP]

That would be too much of a pain for me. Id save up and buy another reel. All you really need is 2 combos. One for cranks and one for everything else

[JustJames]

It depends on how and where you fish, what type of lure you have. If you mainly bank fishing and you are on budget, one rod one reel should work too, but also depend on rod and reel that you select. You don't have to use all known for mankind lures to be able to catch fish. Select lures that suitable to use on your rod-reel. You don't have to be in fashion and follow everybody when they said which lure work such and such. 

If I were you, I will get MH rod lure rated 1/4 - 1 oz 6'6 - 7', reel would be curado 200K or Daiwa tatula CT/R. With this set up, you should be able to fish quite a lot variety of lure from finesse Texas rig all the way up to some crank and some jig (up to 3/8oz). Forget about Ned  rig or BFS style lure and don't worry about those big swimbait guys.

 

Now if I'm gonna bring two rods and one reel to fish at the same time? Hell no, too much time to switch between each rod.

[LionHeart]

3 hours ago, Fishinthefish said:

From a boat this would be a nightmare. On a calm breezeless day sure. But any type of wake or waves, any wind to blow the line out of the guides or your fingers and youll be ready to buy new reels after an 8 hour trip.

 

From the shore its doable. Youre more stable and can put your back to the wind to help alleviate the issue of it blowing the line around.

 

But ask yourself, how much time do you spend fishing per trip or how much time do you spend per week? Now lets say youre bank fishing and figuring out on average what the fish want takes an hour. You could cut that time in half if you dont have to keep switching one reel from rod to rod. And on the other side you could double that hour to get your first bite because youre spending so much time running line through guides. Is it really worth losing that much of the little time we all get to spend fishing on this planet to save some cash? As a temp solutionion understand a man has to do what a man has to do to catch fish. But long term, how much is your time worth when youre losing it to redo the same process over and over again?

If it only took me an hour to figure out what the fish want, my troubles would be over.

[WRB]

I have more bait casting rods then reels and keep a few spares in the rod locker of each.

All my salt water reels are stored separate from the rods and have more rods then reels.

Spinning rods, I have several trout rods stored separately and use my "bass" spinning reels on them.

Tom

[new2BC4bass]

I keep the drag loose to string my line, but it still takes me longer than 15 seconds.  Course my eyes never were much good.  I don't think my fingers are quite as nimble as they were 50 years ago. 

 

True.  It is a hobby, not a profession, but I still prefer to be fishing rather than switching reels around or even tying on different lures anymore than I have to cuz I don't get out all that much.  It has taken a few years to get where I am at now in terms of gear.

 

I have spare spools for 3-4 reels, but have yet to switch them out...for the same reason I don't switch reels while out.  Home is the place for that. 

 

 

[WRB]

70's-80's my preferred reels were Abu 2500C, 4500C and 5000C reels. Started using a few Shimano 100 & 1000 reels in the late 80's, in the early 90's around '92 I bought my most expensive fresh water reel Shimano Calcutta 250 for $140. In 94 Daiwa came out with TD HT series 103 & 105 reels with anti reverse and free spinning spools that changed everything for me, cost $140, more then my rods at that time. I fished with the Shimano 250 for swimbaits and still use that reel. The Daiwa TD's Ibfinally retired 5 years ago with Tatula R reels that cost less then $140, my current custom rods were $260, 5 years ago. Rods cost more then my reels!

Tom

 

[TylerT123]

3 hours ago, JustJames said:

It depends on how and where you fish, what type of lure you have. If you mainly bank fishing and you are on budget, one rod one reel should work too, but also depend on rod and reel that you select. You don't have to use all known for mankind lures to be able to catch fish. Select lures that suitable to use on your rod-reel. You don't have to be in fashion and follow everybody when they said which lure work such and such. 

If I were you, I will get MH rod lure rated 1/4 - 1 oz 6'6 - 7', reel would be curado 200K or Daiwa tatula CT/R. With this set up, you should be able to fish quite a lot variety of lure from finesse Texas rig all the way up to some crank and some jig (up to 3/8oz). Forget about Ned  rig or BFS style lure and don't worry about those big swimbait guys.

 

Now if I'm gonna bring two rods and one reel to fish at the same time? Hell no, too much time to switch between each rod.

Funny you should say that, I already have a Curado 200k, no rod though. Probably getting a Dobyns Fury, waiting to get my hands on one to feel the action. I was thinking one setup for everything but now I’m thinking one for everything and one for cranks.

[ww2farmer]

I have spare rods at home in case I break one and a new replacement can't be purchased right away. But I have a reel on every rod in the boat. Threading guides every time you wanted to switch would get "reel" old, "reel" fast....pun intended.

[Deleted account]

I couldn't tell you how many rods and reels I own, (but end up fishing with the same 6 most of the time), so N/A for me, but moving around one reel all the time would get old in a hurry. Of course if you only have one reel, what other choice is there. I would put a versatile line on it (12-15 lb mono or 30-40 lb braid) and mount it on a versatile rod (plenty of threads on that), to help minimize having to change rods, and move it only when required.

[Raul]

You need more than one reel and rod ? WOW ! .... that’s a new one.

 

I guess I must be doing it wrong for the past 45 years, I only need one reel and one rod to fish almost every bait in my Tbox and I say almost every bait because I think I can leave those 3+ oz swimbaits at home, I really seldom fish them.

[RPreeb]

If you are minimizing like I am, you need to look at more middle of the road combos.  I'm about as underequipped as anyone on this forum.  I started last season with a Diawa Tatula CT 100 8.1:1 on a 6 foot medium UglyStik.  That was my main combo last year, and I caught fish on it.  This year I've added a 7' St. Croix Premier, medium with a fast tip, and a second Tatula CT 100, this one a 6.3:1.  Haven't had any chance to use the new combo yet, but that should change this next week.  

 

The point being that if you get a rod that can handle most of what you want to use, it may not be perfect for some baits or techniques, but it will be functional for just about anything, and you will spend a lot less time messing around swapping the reel from one rod to another.  I think that you will get tired very quickly of having to change out the reel instead of just tying on a new bait or rig.

 

I also have the salt water spinning combo that I bought for fishing in the Bahamas, but it is showing to be too much for most freshwater.  It was aimed at up to around 10-15 pound snappers and barracuda, and lacks the sensitivity for most freshwater species.  The 7' MH rod and 5000 series Shimano reel is a load to throw baits with all day.  My next replacement will probably be this one.  I need something lighter for finesse baits, but it probably won't happen before next year.  

[TylerT123]

42 minutes ago, Raul said:

You need more than one reel and rod ? WOW ! .... that’s a new one.

 

I guess I must be doing it wrong for the past 45 years, I only need one reel and one rod to fish almost every bait in my Tbox and I say almost every bait because I think I can leave those 3+ oz swimbaits at home, I really seldom fish them.

Do you fish cranks and jigs on the same rod?

[sully420]

I would just pick the rod you feel is the most versatile and spool up with mono or braid and just fish everything on that. Just make a plan that fits your budget and pick up more reels when you can look for deals.

[drew4779]

Seems like a nightmare to me... 

[roadwarrior]

I think you would be better served with just one "all-around" rod.  The specific rod depends 

on your budget, but a suggestion for general parameters would be 6 1/2' - 7', spinning or

baitcasting, Medium Power/ Fast Action.

 

[desmobob]

It's your budget and your fun.  No reason why it wouldn't be effective if you're willing to do it.  Still water fly fishermen do it all the time but the other way around; changing spools or reels to go from floating to sink-tip to full-sinking lines on the same rod.

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[TylerT123]

5 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

I think you would be better served with just one "all-around" rod.  The specific rod depends 

on your budget, but a suggestion for general parameters would be 6 1/2' - 7', spinning or

baitcasting, Medium Power/ Fast Action.

 

Would medium be fine for jigs? Which Dobyns Fury casting rod would be Medium/Fast?